Experience Kissimmee's Cari Marotta & Danielle Dunn
Andrew Ricketts of VoX International with Experience Kissimmee's Nori Rodriguez
Deborah Gilchrist of Redtag.ca with TravelBrands' Melissa Burchat & Kim Uno
Huntington Travel's Bruce Slade, Experience Kissimmee's Hector Lizasuain & Craig Canvin of TravelBrands
Make way for the Kissimmee Convoy! Experience Kissimmee hosted a vibrant luncheon at Malaparte at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto recently and following their lead were representatives from Gatorland, Old Town USA, Star Island Resort and Regal Oaks & Ecantada Resorts. A diverse group of travel professionals were invited to the event – from travel agents, to tour operators, airline partners and media.
The reception room was abuzz as guests made their way from table to table, meeting with each of the suppliers to get product updates. The ultimate message: Kissimmee is the “Gateway to Fun”!
“Some people still don’t know where Kissimmee is,” said Nori Rodriguez of Experience Kissimmee. “We’re just 10 minutes away from Disney theme parks and other major attractions, but because we’re outside of Orlando, we have more affordable accommodations and more variety.”
A minor challenge that Rodriguez and her team consistently face is differentiating their destination from their neighbour. “Orlando is great, it’s our sister city,” she said. “But we want to raise awareness that there are options outside of Orlando and Kissimmee has more to offer, more than just theme parks.”
Guests were sipping on white wine spritzers and daydreaming about sunny Florida when Hector Lizasuain, Experience Kissimmee’s Destination Development Manager, burst our daydream bubble to deliver a presentation on the area’s revitalization plans to improve the infrastructure surrounding their tourism offerings – landscaping, roads, parking lots, signage etc. A lot of money is being spent in Kissimmee with the goals of attracting new visitors and more repeat visitors.
Originally from Chicago, Lizasuain used to vacation in Kissimmee and claimed he was homesick for the destination every time he had to leave. “We are trying to sell you an experience,” he said. “And that’s what we want for our visitors – we want them to be homesick when they leave as well.”
Jacqueline Moquin, Star Island Resort & Club; Laura Sherman, Regal Oaks & Encantada Resorts;
Bridgette Porto, Gatorland; Elizabeth Bransky, Old Town USA; and Nori Rodriguez, Experience Kissimmee
